Rotary tool-head.



l A. E. CHURCH. ROTARY TOOL HEAD. APPLICATION FILED 1733.5. 1809.

928,180. Patented Ju1y13,19o9.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT E. CHURCH, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO TIiIE UNION MANITl `AC- TURING COMPANY, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A. (`ORP(` RA'I`ION.

ROTARY TOOL-HEAD.

No. easyiso.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Continuation. of applications Serial No. 367,226, filed April 9, 1907, and Serial No, 389,613, 1ed. August 2f?, 1907. This application iled February 5, 1909. Serial No. ll''6,265.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT E. CHURCH, of the city of New Britain, the county ol" Hartlord, and the State oi Connecticut, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in lotary ,lcol-Ifleads, which improvements are described in the following specification and are illustrated by the accomjninyingI drawings.

Y My invention relates generally' to that class of rotary metalworking tooldieads, such as drill chucks, hollow mills, end mills, seien/cutting die-heads, collapsible taps, adjustable reamcrs, and the like, in which adj ust able members, variously called jaws, cut ters, dies, chasers, etc., symmetrically disposed in forwardly convergent chambers about the oi the tool-head, revolve orbitallv around, within, into, against or toward the work. l'lor convenience ol expression, all such revolving,l members, whether acting; as cutters or holders, will hereinafter bc uniformly termed jaws, and that term will be used in the subjcined claims to desie'- nate all such revolving members indiscrin'iinately.

lvly invention relates Jarticularly to means ol. moving such jaws relatively to each other and to the rotary tool-head body in which they are held.

It is the object oi: the invention to obtain, in tool-heads ol the specified kind, a superior adj ustability olf the jaws to work ol' di'll'ercnt kinds and sizes; to render the jaws interchangeable, and separately adjustable with reference to each other; and to attain those incidental advantages of structure and opera tion which will appeal' from the following' description. To accomplish this object, I use, in connection with such revoluble toolhead body and convergent jaws, a number oi pinions with screw connections for driving' those jaws in unison, and means for adjusting said jaws independently with reference to each other.

In said drawings, il'igure l is a side elevation ci a drill chuck, which is constructed in accordance with the principles ol my invention. Fig. 2 is an axial section of a similarly constructed screw-cutting die-head. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same chuck, and is also a rear elevation of the same die-head. Fig'. l is a iront elevation ci said die-head. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the nose of a hollow mill, or ond mill, which is oimstruclod in accordance with the same princi ples. lily. 6 is a side elevation. ol one ol the aws of a similarly constructed tap.

In these views, the numeral l denotes the body of thc tool-hcad- This body has the general external form ol' a solid olz revolution, a posterior axial here 2 vfor the reception of the mandrel of a turningij-machine, and an anterior axial boro 3, which may acM commodate the work. Several inclined chambers 5, bored through body l, converge forwardly toward the anis of that body, li- Verge symnnitrically backward, and sever ally intercommimica-tc with saidv anterior bore 3, in the lamiliar manner which is illustrated in drill chucks of the Almond typo, so-called. Of body l the rear cylindrical portion. 6 is 'provided witn peripheral screw threads, while the adjacent cylindrical por tion, of a larger diameter', constitutes the hub 7. In each of the inclined chambers 5, just described, is inserted one oi" a pro-determined number or set of jaws. In Fig'. l these jaws are denoted by the numeral 4, and are sl'iarponed to parallel straight edges, suitable for gripping,` the shank of a drill in the usual manner; while in Figs. 2 and 'l tho corresponding jaws, denoted by the numeral 8, have screw-cutting die-threads on their inward faces. In Ilia'. 5 the jaws, denoted by the numeral 22 have tl-shaped cutting' edges, suitable for plain cylindrical work. In Fig. (3, the jaw 23 has on its outer face a screw cutting,` thread suitable for inside work. Each jaw has a hollow, internally threaded shank 9, containing' a screw l0, which is the stem oi a pinion 11, meshino' with a gear ring .12. The latter encircle/s hu n 7, and is held rotatably thereon by a nut, or screw cap, 17, and is provided internally with beveled gear-teeth 24, meshing with pinions l1. Along its anterior edge, this ring may be armed with a circular rack lll, as shown in Fig'. l, for engagement with, a key pinion, which is not shown in the drawings, but which may be inserted in key-hole 25. For convenience in making or repeating' required adjustments the gear ring' l2 and body l may be provided with a graduated scale 15 and zero mark l5, as shown in Fig. l. An adjusting screw 18, which is seated in cap 17, and is provided with a set nut 19, abuts in a shallow depression 2l, in pinion 11, and constitutes a bearing, which is adapted to sustain the backward thrust of the pinion screw stem 10. To prevent the jaws from rotating in their respective chambers 5, while being moved longitudinally therein, and also to hold them fast in any desired position to which they may have been adjusted, the shank 9 is flattened along its back 20, and is there engaged by a screw 13, which is seated in the external wall of body 1, and is adapted, in one position of advancement, to engage the jaw as a key or spline, and, in a more advanced position, to engage the saine as a set screw.

The shape and direction of the cutting or gripping edges or faces of the jaws, may be various, according to the kind of work for which the tool-head is to be used. As already shown in Fig. 1, if plain gripping jaws 4 are inserted in the jaw chambers 5, the tool-head is a drill chuck; while, if jaws 8, which have screw-cutting threads upon their inward faces, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, are inserted in the same tool-holder body, the device is a screw-cutting die-head. lf plain aws 22, having inside or anterior cutting edges, be substituted in the same jaw-holding body 1, the structure becomes a hollow mill, or end mill, as shown in Fig. 5. ln like manner, if jaws of the pattern which is shown in Fig. 6, be similarly substituted, the device becomes a tap, or cutter-head for cutting inside screwthreads in blanks of various sizes. In like manner, if plain jaws, having outside cutting edges, be similarly substituted, the structure becomes an adjustable reamer. ln like manner, if jaws which are provided with screwcutting` threads upon their outer faces, as in Fig. 6, and also with screw-cutting threads upon their inner faces, as in Fig. 2, be similarly substituted, the instrument becomes a cutter-head, which may be used alternatively for cutting male and female screws, asv

convenience may require. ln like manner jaws of other patterns may be similarly substituted.

Before the tool-head is used, a preliminary adjustment of the jaws, relatively to each other, may be effected by either one or more of three methods, as happens to be most convenient. The first of these methods, which is applied without disturbing nut 17, consists in merely turning one or more of the adjusting screws 18 the second method, which also is applied without opening the tool head, consists in rotating one, and, if need be, another, of the jaws by hand through one or more complete revolutions on screw 10, while such jaw is disengaged from screw 13 5 the third method, which involves the temporary removal of nut 17 consists in disengaging one, and, if need be, another, pinion 11 from gear ring 12, in rotating such pinion with reference to its connected jaw, so far as due adjustment may require, and in then bringing that pinion back into a new engagement with said ring.

Being independently adjustable as described, the jaws of a single set may, by construction, be exact duplicates of each other, and interchangeable, and any jaw, being released frein screw 13, and turned olf screw 10, may conveniently be withdrawn forwardly from the body of the tool-head, and replaced by a new or different jaw, without opening the tool-head or removing nut 17.

ln the operation of the invention, any desired opening, closing or collapsing of the jaws in unison, for engaging or disengaging tools or work, is effected by turning gear ring 12.

l claim- 1. A tool-head body, having convergent jaw chambers, a number of adjustable and forwardly inclined jaws, provided with internally screw-threaded hollow shanks, working in said chambers, a number of pinions, having screw stems, working in said Shanks respectively, and a gear ring, encircling said body and engaging said pinions, in combination with a screw cap, holding said gear ring rotatively in position, and a number of adjusting screws, working through said screwcap, and engaging said pinions respectively.

2. ln a rotary tool-head, a number of independently adjustable and forwardly inclined convergent jaws, and an equal number of adjustable pinions, having screw connections with said jaws, in combination with screws for adjusting said pinions independently, and means for driving said pinions in unison.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set my name in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT E. CHURCH.

Titnesses C. F. WoonFoRD, MARY A. TAYLOR. 

